1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the storage of cues with different formats in a memory and to their reading therefrom.
The invention applies advantageously but not in a limiting fashion to the field of television, and more particularly to the storing of characters with different formats in and to their reading from a read-only memory intended to be read by the screen controller for the displaying thereon of the characters thus read.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In graphics systems each character is generally represented over a certain number of bits, for example 9.times.13 corresponding to a matrix of 9.times.13 pixels. The format in which the characters are represented may be standardized, for example in the case of subtitling, or else can be free, especially as regards characters specifically dedicated to the television monitor.
An example is the so-called "menu" characters which allow symbols, such as a crossed-out loudspeaker, to appear on the screen to indicate that the sound from the television has been switched off. Moreover, whereas the characters with a 9.times.13 format are used, for example in the United States, certain countries which use a non-Latin alphabet require different character formats, for example an 18.times.26 format. Generally, one character format is required for a given application, for example a 9.times.13 format or an 18.times.26 format. At present, the design and construction of a system for storing and reading characters in a given format are specific to the format and such a system needs to be completely re-investigated, especially as regards the addressing of the memory for storing the characters, for a different character format. A solution for this problem is needed. An object of the invention is a device for storing and reading cues with different formats whose hardware and software architecture, especially as regards the addressing of the memory, is identical for these different formats of cues (e.g., a 9.times.13 format and an 18.times.26 format).
An object of the invention is also to achieve such a device in which the size of the storage memory is optimized and can be reduced or increased as a function of the number of characters to be stored whatever format is used, and without this requiring significant modifications to the structure of the addressing means.
Another object of the invention is to be able to store in the storage memory solely characters with a first format (for example 9.times.13) or else solely characters with a second format (for example 18.times.26) or alternatively characters with a first format and characters with a second format, and to do so while preserving the same addressing structure.